Foxconn Technology Group said Thursday it remained committed to "long term" job creation in Wisconsin, after Democrat Governor Tony Evers said it was unrealistic to expect the company to employ 13,000 people as promised. However Republican Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos pushed back against the Democratic governor, saying Evers was undermining the project and that any changes to the contract would be rejected by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.

Vos, whose legislative district includes the site of the Foxconn project, said in an interview on WISN-AM that renegotiating the deal would only make it worse for the state.

"Why would we ever want that?" Vos said. "Either fewer jobs or fewer investments. It is beyond my level of understanding to think that a governor of Wisconsin is basically rooting for the failure of the largest economic development in our state's history."

Foxconn, meanwhile, said in a statement yesterday that it remains committed to the deal, while being "open to further consultation, collaboration, and new ideas." Foxconn mentioned its other planned projects in the state, including innovation centers in Green Bay, Eau Claire and Racine, and a $100 million partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Madison for medical and other research.

"Foxconn's commitment to job creation in Wisconsin remains long term and will span over the length of the (state) contract and beyond," the company said.

Foxconn added the construction on the LCD display manufacturing facility will commence in the summer.

The SFGate report added that "Vos and many other Republican lawmakers have spoken out against Evers since he told reporters on Wednesday that the contract may be renegotiated. Vos said Evers and Democrats running for president are "rooting for this project's failure so they can somehow blame Donald Trump."

President Trump was involved in landing the deal, announced it at the White House and traveled to Wisconsin last summer for the groundbreaking, as our cover graphic illustrates. He had heralded it as a sign of a manufacturing resurgence in the United States.

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